How the Ghost Became Famous
by nomsayin13
Summary: Welcome welcome welcome to the Station Square Amusement Park where you can spend your vacation with your family and friends. We've got everything: cotton candy, stuffed animals, games, roller coasters, even a hotel so you can wake up and keep on having fun! If you have any complaints about anything at all, please contact someone other than us. Maybe a ghost. Wait what?
1. The Green Door

_I do not own the Sonic franchises from the anime to any of the games. I do however own Sam and Flower. This will be a 2 part story. Let me know if it needs more suspense or something. _

_One early afternoon_

A long black limousine rolled into view from the long roads leading away from Station Square. Normally people foreign to Station Square would be curious on the details of the limousine, while others- people from Station Square- know the exact and only person who often rides the long car: Christopher Thorndyke. Those who know the twelve-year-old boy would be quite surprised to find that instead of the boy and his small company of friends, they'd find Sonic, Sam, Flower, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Tails and Knuckles all spread out in the different sections of the automobile. If you'd never heard of or seen the figures mentioned above, it would be quite a surprise indeed.

But then your heart would float alongside your body as you hear some of the anthropomorphic characters singing- Sam, Flower, Cream, Cheese and Amy- various karaoke songs. Your eyes would wonder what the red echidna was thinking, or why the yellow fox paid more attention to his hands than the karaoke songs, or perhaps what the blue hedgehog had done to tire himself as he snored heavily. It was almost like seeing a family going on a road trip, which, in a way, it was a family road trip. The friends are pretty close.

_"The ants go marching one by one! Hurrah, Hurrah!_

_ The ants go marching one by one! Hurrah Hurrah! _

_The ants go marching one by one the little one stops to suck her thumb and they all go marching to the ground to get out of the rain,"_ the girls sang.

_"Boom! Boom! Boom!"_ the little ones howled in delight. They laughed. Amy motioned to Sonic, still sound asleep. The laughter turned into soft giggling as the girls mumbled the rest of the song among themselves.

"I am so excited," Flower whispered.

"Me too," Sam agreed. "I've never been to an amusement park before."

"It's super fun, Miss Sam," Cream chimes in. "I went there one time with Mr. Vector, Mr. Espio and Charmy and we all had fun."

"There are allll sorts of goood things in the amusement park Sam," Amy informed her, grinning. "Rides, cotton candy, games, stuff animals," Amy counted the items off her fingers. "I hope my Sonic wins the biggest stuffed animal in a game. Oh, it will be so romantic." Amy sighed as she leaned back into her seat.

Sam rolled her eyes. "She's in Amy land again."

Amy sat up right away. "A girl can dream, can't she?" she said teasingly. "Just 'cause you never had a boyfriend-"

"Hey guys look at this!" the silent echidna interrupted.

The girls' heads darted from this way to that, temporarily forgetting the conversation. "What?"

Knuckles chuckled. "Nothing, I just wanted Amy to be quiet."

"Knuckles!" Amy exclaimed, waking Sonic in the process. The blue hero opened his eyes and yawned.

"Hey what's all the ruckus? You guys having a party or something?"

"Or something," Sam joked. The others laughed.

"It sure was something," Tails commented with his small quick fingers going this way, that way...

_An hour later…_

"We're here we're here we're here!" Flower and Cream shouted.

_"Chao chao chao!"_ Cheese joined in.

"It's about time," Sam snorted.

The others agreed. After finding a parking space and calming an electrified Flower down, the group set off to a hotel to check out their rooms. For the sake of the younger children, the group decided to stay in various rooms that each fit two people.

"Tails and I are sleeping together," Sonic announced almost automatically. Tails nodded sheepishly.

Amy groaned but didn't say anything. "I'll go with Miss Amy," Cream said. "To make her feel better."

"Thanks Cream," Amy smiled.

"You're welcome Miss Amy."

"I'm with Flower," Sam declared. She patted Knuckles's shoulder. "And poor Knuckles is all alone."

Knuckles shrugged. "I don't mind. Besides, I like it that way." That is true; Knuckles spent most of his life on the Floating Island after all. So Sonic went up to the receptionist at the desk who didn't make a fuss about his sudden appearance (compared to the other citizens).

"Three rooms for two and one small room please," he requested politely.

The receptionist nodded and handed him the keys. "The room numbers are on the keys," she informed him. She smiled. "You're here to have a good time with your friends?"

"Actually Flower," Sonic pointed over to the black fox, "was begging us to take her here for days, so here we are."

The lady chuckled. "I know what it's like. I have a seven-year-old daughter at home who is a lot like her."

"Really?"

"Yep! She is very smart, but can be a bit of a handful at times. There was that one time when I was feeding her Coco Puffs..."

"Sonic!" Flower hollered to the blue hedgehog. Sonic glanced over to see the stares his friends gave him and laughed. "Whoops, I kept you guys waiting." He turned to the receptionist. "Thanks for talking with me, I'll see ya later."

"Bye bye now," she replied as the next customer replaced Sonic's spot in line. Sonic joined his friends and handed them the appropriate keys. The group walked close together down the long hallway with already occupied rooms. The rooms the friends were looking for were next to one another.

"Looks like we're neighbors," Amy snorted.

"Good thing we got Sonic to stop talking with his new girlfriend," Knuckles teased.

Sonic playfully slapped Knuckles' arm. "Says the guy who has never been with any girl at all!"

Knuckles returned the gesture, unintentionally knocking Sonic to the ground with the force. Amy gasped but Sonic stood to his feet laughing, as though it didn't hurt at all. "You still got it!"

The girls sighed in relief but decided to get a move on and quickly chose their rooms. Cream and Amy chose a soft pink room with giant bubble gum queen size beds while Sam and Flower chose a lavender room with small dark purple butterflies fluttering toward the ceiling. Both pairs were happy with their choice. Meanwhile Sonic (who was a bit bruised from Knuckles' slap earlier) and Tails chose a dark blue bedroom with glow-in-the-dark stars glued to the walls, all accompanied by an extravagant space ship. Knuckles, having been the last one picked, chose the only room available: a boring bright brown room with a single salamander slithering up the wall. All the rooms contained a bathroom, queen sized beds and a TV set.

Sam the hedgehog allowed herself to flop upon the cushioned bed, arms spread out across the bed. Flower immediately joined her. Both sighed as they felt themselves get comfortable. "Ah, the effects of a good bed," Sam breathed.

"Uh-huh," Flower answered, mimicking Sam's position.

Both girls quieted down as they allowed themselves to sink into relaxation. Both glanced over at one another. "So…this is what an amusement park is like?" Sam asked.

"We're in a hotel," Flower pointed out.

"I know," the funny hedgehog replied. "I'm just looking forward to riding on all the rides and playing all the games."

Flower sat up. "You've never been to an amusement park!?"

Sam shook her head. "This is my first time."

Flower smiled. "I loooovve amusement parks. They are so much fun!"

"It does look promising. Hmm. Flower, what should we do first when we actually get to be in the park?"

Before Flower could answer, a terrified scream ran through the hallway outside. The girls jumped, startled, but then dashed out of their room and straight to the source; a room to the left of Sam's and Flower's room. A man in a neat white uniform lied on the ground, looking as though he'd seen a ghost. Sonic, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Tails, and Knuckles were right by his side.

"Mister, is there something wrong?" Cream asked.

"You can tell us," Sonic added. "We'll help you."

The man, looking young and barely reassured, stood shakily to his feet. "Why?" he muttered. "W-w-why haven't they told me of this?"

"Why hasn't who told you what?" Amy tried. She waved her hand under the man's unblinking stare. When the worker didn't respond, Amy shivered. "Tell us please!"

But the man paid her no attention and walked past the heroes and down the lengthy stairs. Our heroes turned to one another in confusion. "What was _that_ all about?" Sam blurted out.

"Hey guys," Flower called out from the right. "The door is glowing."

Sure enough, the group turned to the door that the man was near and it was indeed glowing. An eerie green glow shone from the cracks of the door. Murmurs and whispers seemed to give the door an almost lofty evil, concealed behind the wood. The friends huddled together as the air grew cold. Cream, her Chao and Flower whimpered. Knuckles even let out a silent whimper of his own. Sonic's eyes were wide, afraid and curious at the same time. The hedgehog searched his friends' eyes asking what he should do but everyone shrugged. Sonic reached his hand out and knocked at the door.

**"BWA HA HA HA HA!"** howled the voice behind the door. The friends screamed as they grabbed one another's hands- it didn't matter whose, they could be in serious danger! They ran down the hallway, down the stairs, into the lobby, panting from all of the running they done and now had people staring at them with curious eyes. The receptionist was the most surprised.

"Oh my goodness what happened?" she was by the heroes' side instantly. For a moment no one could answer her. At last Tails spoke. "The door near Sam and Flower's room-" The hedgehog and fox waved to indicate who they are- "it's glowing and-and-"

"We think it's haunted!" the usually calm echidna shouted. The curious crowd turned exceptionally inquisitive. The receptionist noticed the unwanted the attention the heroes were attracting and led them into her small office. "Now, let's start from the beginning," she tried again.

Suddenly a green light flooded the room, enveloping the friends whole. Then the light died away just as quickly as it began. Everyone looked calm but confused, especially the receptionist. "What are you doing in my office?"

"I was gonna ask the same thing," Sonic commented.

_"Chao chao chao,"_ Cheese spoke.

"You're right Cheese, we should go to the amusement park." Cream remembered.

The atmosphere became heated with excitement. "What're we waiting for then? Let's go!" Sam the hedgehog was back and ready to have fun. The others shared her enthusiasm and charged out the room, positive feeling returning to their faces. The receptionist exited as well and returned to her desk. The office was empty just as quick as it was full. A thin book collapsed soundlessly on the floor. A whisper of what was yet to come...

_Unknown location_

"Good," an ancient voice cooed. "Good good, _very_ good…" Clawed white hands flew over a magnificent pale crystal ball, piercing eyes deciphering the expressions on the entire hotel staff. When he spoke, hints of color shimmered in his mouth- King Boom Boo, the king of ghosts! The old spirit switched locations from the hotel to the amusement park. The faces; he recognized them all. He could name every single person in the hotel (including Harold Wesley Geffory Jr., the man he scared ssoo badly. It's not his fault the man was new to the hotel business. Geez!) The king felt something else too, familiar auras smacking his sense around of his old enemies, quite possibly enemies he encountered before…

"Your highnesssss," a ghost minion hissed. The king stopped and turned. "I've newssss you mussst hear."

The big ghost turned his back to the crystal ball. "Good. Is it about the new…victims of the park?"

The smaller spirit nodded. "Yesss, your majesssty. Do you recall a blue hedgehog?"

The king nodded.

"What about a yellow fox?"

The king frowned. "His name is…"

"Tailssss, your majesssty," he helps.

"Thank you and yes I do."

"A pink hedgehog?"

"Sounds somewhat familiar."

"Cream the Rabbit and Cheessssse the Chao?"

"No."

"Ssssamantha the hedgehog and Flower Fox."

He frowned. "Who are they?"

"I do not know myssself your majesssssty," the messenger ghost admits. "But I heard them talking with one another. Sssamantha is a clossse friend of Ssssonic the Hedgehog."

"The blue hedgehog?"

"Correct."

Boo paused as he took in the new information. "I see. Is there anything else I should know?"

"There issss but one more person your majessssty."

"Well, spit out it out already!"

"A red echidna called Knucklesss."

"Hmmm… that name does not ring a bell. Did I meet that person in Chicago?"

The spirit shook his head. "We've never been to Chicago."

"Oh!" He remembered. "That's right! Then who could that fellow be?" The king gave up thinking, (yes that fast) and shouted. "Servant! Bring me my Crystal Ball!"

"Sttteeeeick!" answered another ghost, this one looking slightly insane; his eyes were wide and spelled "I've got a sick obsession!" In this case it was- "Steeeecik! Steeeiiicck!"

King Boo waved his hand away. "Yes yes you'll have your stick but first-" he motions for the crystal ball seated comfortably in the ghost's non existent arms. The stick ghost hands the item to the king without question. He looked at him with pleading eyes. "Stttteeeeick?" he asks.

The king motions for a new servant to come and hand the now over-the-top ghost an old chewed up stick. As the crazy ghost exits the room with his new prize, the messenger ghost says, "That wasss a clossse call earlier."

"Indeed." Boo agrees. "It is a good thing I had my 'forget you saw/heard/whatever power'."

"It issss very usssseful your majessssty," the ghost declares.

"Yes, now if you don't mind…"

The small ghost bows and disappears out of the area, leaving the king to his work. The king stares at his crystal ball once more (he knew it was near his body but well, let's face it; being a ghost can make you very lazy). Within the glass he changed the view from the hotel to random parts of the amusement park. He spotted a couple of the Sonic characters, but only one caught his interest.

The big ghost whistled low. She looks a bit strange he thought. But boy is she gorgeous in her own way. Suddenly he had an idea. He summoned his ghosts, all ready to answer his orders. King Boom Boo smiled like the Cheshire Cat as he gave his orders to his ghosts.

_At the end of the day_

It was around early evening and everyone was tired. Even the younger ones and they weren't afraid to admit it. So after a couple of hours full of excitement and prizes (and loads of cotton candy), they headed into the hotel dining room where they had dinner and now the majority of the friends were in their rooms getting ready for bed. Knuckles however wasn't ready to go to sleep yet; he couldn't help but think of the events that happened just before they entered the exciting world of roller coasters and stuffed animals.

Something strange happened; what happened Knuckles doesn't know but he did remember how strange the event was. It is about as strange as a goose in a ballet tutu; it is about as strange as the thought of him going on a date with Rouge, (wait did he just think that? So much for vacation…); it is about as strange as-

"Mommy! Mommmmy? Where are you?" The sound of a child calling for her mommy so late at night. Knuckles, despite being tired of rowdy children, decided that helping a child out is the right thing to do. So up he went off his bed to the hallway where he found nobody there. "Moommmmy, I'm scared…" The voice whimpered, and it was coming from that door with the green glow surrounding it.

Knuckles shuddered at the strange déjà-vu soaring through his body; for some reason that door just terrified him. The echidna sighed in exasperation. Perhaps Sonic-

Loud snores erupted from Sonic and Tails's room. Knuckles sighed again. He really did not want to go in there but- "Mommmyyy!" the child sounded close to tears. Auto pilot was engaged as Knuckles acted on impulse, using impressive force to punch the door wide open. Before him ghosts of shapes and sizes; square ghosts, circle ghosts, big ghosts and small ghosts all mixed into one blob of spirits. Knuckles felt himself go paralyzed so he couldn't move and speechless to the point where he was almost mute. Then King Boom Boo appeared, sticking his tongue out for all to see. Rainbows flooded in plagued his mind, the evil laugh echoing his mind. Again. And again.

_QOTS: Any ideas for challenging puzzles? Example: Mazes, memorization, etc. _


	2. Aaaaaa-oooooohhhh!

Barely a few minutes later, a sleepwalking Sonic knocked on Knuckles's door. "Knucklehead? Knuckles!" He lazily called. "I want a bed time story please…_ ¡Abra la puerta por favor!"_

Sam appeared in the hallway. "Sonic what are you doing speaking Spanish so late at night?"

Sonic woke to the sound of Sam's voice. "_¿Eh?_ I mean uh, wha-?" Sonic was confused. "Oh hi Sam," he acknowledges giving a sheepish wave. "What's going on?"

"I could say the same to you," Sam replies leaning against the wall. "You sleepwalk a lot?"

"Sometimes," he answers carefully, slightly embarrassed to be caught in the act. Then he clears his throat. "I wonder what Knucklehead is up to since he's sleeping alone for the next few days."

Sam placed her hands on her hips. "Sonic, he's Knuckles." The blue hedgehog opened his mouth to reply but Sam gasped; she noticed something. "The door's wide open."

Sonic too noticed just as Sam had and raised an eyebrow. Taking a quick peek in the bedroom, he noticed the sheets messy, blankets tossed around…and no Knuckles. "Knux?" Sonic calls. "Knucklehead, you there?" No answer. Sonic whirled around to find Sam giving him a strange look. "It's happened before."

"The Knucklehead's not answering you?"

"Yeah, but this time he's not even here." Sonic's voice held slight concern, but no clues can be traced on his countenance. The purple hedgehog wasn't sure but she's never seen Sonic like this; a sure sign something's terribly wrong. Sonic made his way over to Knuckles's messy bed and his hands flew over the covers scavenging every which way. Nothing.

Sonic ceased searching and drew a deep breath. Sam knew that Sonic taking a deep breath was code for extreme frustration. Something was definitely wrong. "I'll go get the others," she volunteered instantly as she ran as fast as she could to the others' rooms. Sonic made no attempt to stop her.

_-O-_

Minutes later, the friends all gathered in the narrow hallway, now pouring into the doorway to Knuckles's room. Tails snatched his handheld machine from his back pocket and let the orange beam scan the bed. The little machine picked up no trace of anything red or Knuckles. "Any sign of him?" a worried blue hedgehog questions.

One look from Tails was enough to answer. Sonic went into the hallway where the friends remained; Sam, Flower, Amy, Cream, Cheese now Sonic scouted the hallway of anything that could provide a hint. Everyone sighed; this was getting them nowhere. They can't find Knuckles like this. Hmm…

**"BEEEEEPPPP!"** screeched Tail's handheld machine, startling everyone nearby. The little machine bounced out of Tails's hands after scaring him so abruptly. Flower, the only person unfazed, calmly walked over to the room, reached down and shut the device off. Silence followed the invisible sigh of relief from the people who heard the sound. The friends stared at the little black fox who overshadowed the machine in a cautious yet curious way.

"What?" the fox became aware of the friends' gazes.

"Is there anything you can't do Flower?" Sam compliments.

Flower shrugged. "I dunno, but I made it-" points to the little machine- "stop screaming." Flower picked it up and examined the magical properties of technology. The machine made a buzzing noise and Tails immediately shared Flower's gaze on it. "What's it doin' Tails?"

"I…I don't know," Tails shook his head. The yellow fox noticed that Flower had her tiny finger on a blue button, pressed. The machine stopped whining. Flower smiled. "Hey, hey hey it's all quiet today."

Sam snickers understanding the reference. The little smart black fox examined the machine, then gasped when the device roared to life, arrows and letters scrambled all over the screen. Flower turned to Tails for guidance. The other fox picked up the machine from Flower's hand. Then grinned.

Everyone waited for his answer but there came none. "Tails, is there something wrong?" Cream finally asks.

Tails snapped out of whatever strange trance he was in and nodded. "Yeah it's just… Knuckles is at a location that is…not the sort that would scare us."

"Yeah? And where's that?" Sonic quizzed.

Tails swallowed. "The room with the green light that is where Knuckles may be located."

No one wanted to go into the green room; something about it seemed very off and off in a way that cannot be described as off but off as in evil and odd. Sonic and his friends may have fought dangerous foes in the past but the green door is the real true test of courage. Did they have a choice? Well if you're more like Sonic, there was no choice; friends mean a lot to Sonic especially his close friends like Knuckles. Yeah, Knuckles wasn't his "bestest friend in the whole wide world" but still part of the reason why Sonic and the great majority of his friends are here is because of Knuckles and his strength. They cannot escape adversities without Knuckles's assistance.

So after some quick pep talks with one another (especially Cream and Flower), everyone was ready to go. Pretty soon they were all outside of the door with the green glow. They stood. Then Tails knocked at the door.

No answer. "Well, that didn't work," Sam interrupts the silence and she turned away. Everyone flashed a strange look. Sam whirled back to the friends. "What? I was just joking. Besides I could shape-shift into something and break the door down."

No one objected. Sam then molded then shaped her body until she was a giant hairy leg. The leg swung back and once the blow was prepared flashed forward and kicked the door with so much force that the hinges obliterated. The door soars through the air then crashed into a wall, a large crack forming at the center. With no time to lose our heroes went in.

All was dark and quiet inside, strangely the room was not green at all. Every bit and piece of furniture looked nicely neat and arranged with the floral pattern chairs against the wall, a miniature TV on a wooden stand, a king-sized bed with black and white polka dots and the walls colored a light brown. The friends frowned; this is definitely not the room they are expecting. The silence proved to be just as eerie as the green glow from behind the door.

"Surprise!" All concealed noise erupted from everywhere, the floral pattern chair, within the TV set, and the light brown walls, just everywhere. Everyone huddled together. Everyone that is but Sonic who decided that homing attacking the ghosts (who appeared shortly after). Soon everyone was brawling, doing the best to their abilities to kick butt. Even Cream and Cheese who don't fight. Usually.

Then everything within the place was trashed; the floral pattern chair, the TV set and did I mention the light-

"STEEEIIIICCK!" (Ooops, looks like the Stick Ghost is not very happy with me. I'll go on with the story like normal… I have a floral chair like that in my room.)

Now where was I? Oh yeah. Destruction and fighting everywhere, each opposing side determined to win the fight when suddenly-

_"Stop!"_ a loud ancient voice halted all the activity. Time stopped. No literally time actually stopped; the frozen figures used their no-so-frozen eyes to track down who made them stop. Emerging from the depths of the king-sized bed was King Boom Boo himself. "I cannot believe we are setting our unsettling disputes with such savage destruction. Honestly do you think that I am like that? Well I most certainly am not!" The large ghost waved his tubby finger at the heroes. He crossed his arms then went on. "None of my ghosts are like that I can well well WELL assure you! In fact…"

The king rambled on; frozen eyes turned into downright confusion. Who is that ghost exactly? Why was he larger than all the other ghost? Why is he acting sophisticated? Wait, did he just say he was king through all the rambling? And where is he keeping Knuckles? If he was here. The frozen eyes reconcentrated their frozen eyes upon this 'king'.

"It is a good thing I froze you all when I did," he was saying, "Otherwise the monstrous battle will quickly turn to chaos!" He shuddered at the word. His odd eyes sized up our heroes. "Now what to do with you all…"

A muffled scream shouted throughout the room. A few ghosts were startled by this but the king reached calmly down through the floor to reveal a tied up, duck taped-on-the-mouth, red echidna.

The frozen eyes widened. If the friends could speak, they would be shouting "KNUCKLES!" and maybe something like "What the heck happened to ya knucklehead?"But they could do none of that so they 'said' all of that.

King Boom Boo placed Knuckles on his palm. "This," he hissed, "is my new female prisoner."

Everyone's- even the ghosts' eyes- popped wide open as they stared at the king, the ghosts with a look of disbelief on their expressions. While the ghosts had no comeback to make, the heroes had plenty of questions to ask. And laughs to howl. Knuckles stopped struggling (if he were doing so already), and stared at the king with a look of shock and annoyance. No one said a word.

King Boo who dislikes silence unfreezes the heroes' mouths. As soon as Sonic, Tails, Amy, Cream, Cheese, Sam, and Flower can speak, they all laughed. And laughed. And laughed. "Oh my God, you think _Knuckles_ is a girl!?" Sam wheezed, tears flying out of her eyes. That statement alone was enough to increase the loud laughing fit.

The large ghost, not at all expecting this reaction, opened his mouth to say something but shut it just as quick when the giggling ensured. Sonic tried taking heavy deep breaths in between each laugh. "Mrs. Knucklehead!" He cackled.

Knuckles's face turned as red as his fur in a solid mixture of anger and embarrassment. Perhaps confusion too. Meanwhile King Boo was rather flustered in the drama of it all. This echidna? He grabbed Knuckles's legs and turned him over. This one? The King examined him but could see no difference. A boy? You might call him stupid but this ghost has been living among the spirits in the shadow of the mortal world for many many years; he… sort of forgot how to tell the difference. Besides how was he supposed to know which gender Knuckles is? The long hair threw him off. The ghost tried explaining his reasoning but the heroes didn't hear nor did they care.

After a few more minutes of continuous laughter, the King of ghosts grew angry. A blue fireball sparked in his hand and he threw that blue fireball with all his might toward the unsuspecting heroes. Gasp. Then silent they became but the ghost did not stop there. "If you ever want to see the light of day or the color of nature," he growled. "You would do exactly what I want you to do… compete for your friend's life as well as yours." His expression hardened.

"What exactly do we have to do?" Tails asks.

"That is for my ghost manger to decide," Boom Boo motions for one of the ghosts to step forward.

"I'll make this short an' quick so listen up!" The female rapidly spoke with a nasally voice. "Y'all are gonna solve as many puzzles as His Majesty wants ya to an' y'all haveta move fast. Everyone will be in the most random locations we possess. Readysetgo!"

Before the friends knew it, an invisible force lifted them off their feet and placed them right in the middle of the maze; the heroes did not know that of course; their only concern is to find a way out of the maze. Sam and Amy glanced from this way to that. Sonic, Tails and Cream were gone! It was just Tails, Sam and Flower all huddled in a small group.

_"Don't be alarmed my prisoners,"_ King Boom Boo's voice rang out, echoing seemingly from everywhere. The girls exchange very shocked looks as they scanned the area for anything resembling the king. _"For your friends are in neither remote nor far places. They are in my world now as are you. Don't worry though if you successfully accomplish these puzzles, then you may leave this place unharmed along with… that person."_ The king mutters something incoherently about how androgynous people are. He cleared his throat and went on. _"If however all of you, even some of you fail, you are my servants for eternity. Any questions? None? Good, now please do have fun."_ A low cackling was heard then fades away into the shadows.

Flower clutched at Sam's waist. "What do we do Sam?" she worriedly asks.

The purple hedgehog shakes her head as a way of fighting a mini mental panic attack she was having. She opened her mouth to reply but no words came out. Thankfully Tails sensed it and came to the rescue.

"For now all we can do is find a way out of the maze and hope everyone else is doing okay. Besides puzzles are my specialities." Tails reassured the black fox. Flower smiled as she felt relief soar through her entire body and Tails- her Tails- was touching her shoulder. Flower sighed.

Tails's words- as well as Flower's reaction- gave Sam new hope. And an idea. She shape-shifted into a bird flying up up up to the top. But instead collided into the invisible wall at the top of the maze. She fell down down down right in front of the foxes.

_"Tsk tsk tsk,"_ Boom's voice returned. _"You thought that it will be that easy. Puh-lease, if it were so, you'd be out by now, minus the panicking all of you were doing earlier."_

"You can see us?" Flower questions.

_"And hear and smell and yes my dear see. If any of you are cheating-not allowed by the way, - I will know and I will find the most appropriate punishment for you. No person has ever escaped my world with cheating. We are very **very** big on sportsmanship around here."_

"You keep saying 'your world'," Sam notes. "Where are we exactly?"

_"My world, the spirit world of the ghosts. I am the only one who can transport you in and out. I am the one who rules all. Anyone who says otherwise is automatically my servant for eternity, sincerely King Boom Boo."_

That was the end of that; the three then took a deep breath and set off to escape the madness they are put in…

_-o-_

Sonic was walking down a narrow hallway, scanning the walls nervously. He had no idea where he is or how he got here. All he knew was that his friends were somewhere and he had to get them out by any means possible. The hallway went on and on for seemingly forever so Sonic ran. Still the hallway went on. The blue hedgehog frowned; he can't let the hallway anger him. He's been through worse after all.

But this hallway- no matter how fast Sonic ran, it was all the exact same thing: the glowing green walls with matching floors. It was time to switch tactics. Sonic stopped. He thought up as many options as he could but none seemed right. He pondered some more. He was so deep in thought that he didn't notice a light green frog sneaking up on him. The frog wore flight clothes with a white scarf, brown boots, gloves and knee pads and baggy shirt and pants which are also brown. His overstretched grin spelled insanity. His name is Flying Frog and his catchphrase is-

"Aaaaaa-ooooohhh!"

Sonic bounced from where he was standing. He landed on his feet and a weird look planted on his face. "What the heck? Don't sneak up on me like that!"

The frog came closer. Sonic took a few steps back. "Meee? No. The boss? Yes. Can you plaaay with me-hee-hee?"

Sonic kept on backing away into the depths of the hallway still the frog followed. "Who... are you?"

Flying Frog points to himself. "I am Flying Frog, and I was sent to find you and I have so you must come, come with me-see-gee."

As Sonic thought of ways to respond, a ghost flew right into his face. Sonic stood limp with his posture slightly bent. Then he straightened himself up and opened his eyes. They resembled the ghost's empty eyes. "Aaaaaaa-ohhhhh!"

_Meanwhile_

Sam, Flower and Tails couldn't find a way out. They were stuck. The three did their best but nothing appears to be working. Now the three friends sat against the see through walls in frustration over their huge lack of progress.

"What are we going to do?" Flower wonders. "There is no way out of the maze! We've tried everything but nothing works!" Flower cupped her face and sobbed.

As Sam attempted to soothe the fox, Tails sorted through his mind on an option- any- option to solve the puzzle. They tried feeling the walls to get an idea of where to go, they marked the places they have been to with Sam's feathers (when Sam turned into a bird thus is why she stands),- nothing literally nothing works! How difficult is this to find a way out of a maze? Wait a minute-

A thought stuck Tails: What if King Boom Boo himself is cheating, twisting the maze with every single turn in every possible way to ensure they remain with him forever? But that sounded ridiculous; the king himself said that sportsmanship is most emphasized here; no way could the King be cheating. That is most unlikely yet it was most possible at the same time. Hmm…

The yellow fox notices that the area became quiet; Tails turned around; Sam and Flower were gone. Then before the fox could speak- let alone begin to process what was happening, a door popped open underneath him and he was falling. Tails tried flying but for some reason his tails wouldn't work, so down, down he fell. Tails couldn't scream not even if he wanted to; he was far too busy trying to get his tails to work. The ground!

Tails covered his eyes with his hands and concentrates on making his tails work. He felt the tails spring to life; he hovered and gently landed on his feet. They yellow fox took a deep breath then took a look at his surroundings; the first color he saw: purple. Purple everywhere. Plum trees underground resembled bits of coral deep in the sea; lilac lakes no bigger than an average swimming pool in various parts of the area; amethyst shrubs; and a vibrant rainbow castle in a vast distance.

Tails felt many emotions at once; caution since there was a random castle in the middle of wherever he was; anxiety since he has no idea where he is; and really truly very nervous. Who knows what evils he may run into; if Sonic were here, he wouldn't feel so afraid. Tails learned that lesson long ago; he cannot depend on Sonic or anyone forever, he's got to do some things himself. Saving the day for instance can be quite nerve wracking. _I've got to try_ the fox thought. _I know I can do this myself! For Sonic and everyone!_

With new found determination he set off. Little did he know that he was being watched... carefully.


	3. Clouds Taste Like Cotton Candy

**Note: Sergeant Simon is based off the Archie Sonic Sergeant _Simian_. The names are similar I know and that's why I left the message: to claim I do _not_ own the character. He is for entertainment purposes only. All rights reserved**

_Tis the unknown location located elsewhere_

"This was not part of the deal!" frustration erupted from the black night cloak completely covering the figure- also known as "The Boss." He crushed random objects in proximity with quick punches and feet, all the while murmuring orders to those who worked for him. Everyone was afraid of him in his serious mental state. Everyone but two people; one is a red fox currently applying her makeup while another is a large brown gorilla; he quietly observed the Boss, eyeing the black emerald; he knew that whatever happened in the all-seeing crystal was causing the boss's frustration but what though he didn't know.

The gorilla was five feet tall, with light blue eyes and large palms. He wore green camouflage pants, heavy green combat boots, and a turtle shaped helmet laid on his head prominently. A bandolier swung on his right shoulder, fully of red-headed ammo. His expression was stern and hard, huge muscles complimenting his appearance: a prime example of a disciplined solider. His name is Sergeant Simon

He needn't wait long for The Boss calmed down long enough to think clearly. He noticed Simon almost right away. "Sergeant Simon! How long you been here man?"

"You have summoned me sir," Simon is direct and assertive. "How can I assist you General?"

'The Boss' glared right into the black emerald. "That king of ghosts broke the deal. He was supposed to kidnap Sam, not the red echidna!" His voice tone changed just as quick as he regained his composure. He turned to the gorilla. "Think you can teach 'im a lesson in not messin' with me?"

The gorilla lifted his right foot up and slammed it on the ground. "Sir yes sir!"

"I can't hear you," the Boss learned long ago that this was the way Sergeant Simon preferred to address answer; he just went along with it.

"Sir yes sir!"

"Good! Forward march!" The gorilla marched out of sight before you could count to one.

"Now where did Fi go?" The boss murmured to himself as he marched himself down the long hallway.

_Le castle_

The trapped 'female prisoner' laid on the floor, tied up on the surprisingly dirty floor of a dark deep dungeon. Or at least that's what it seems like it is (was that a plump masked dungeon ghost right there?). A startled gasp escaped the echidna's throat when he realized Cream was right beside him unconscious along with Cheese who woke up right as Knuckles's eyes pierced the two.

Cheese blinked. _"Chao chao chao_?" he asked.

Knuckles shrugged. "Dunno little buddy." He had no idea what the Chao said but he was pretty sure he asked where they were. His gaze fell to Cream who actually looked well, not a scratch to be found. Thank goodness. "Mind waking Cream for me?"

The little bow-tied Chao nodded and gently shook the small rabbit's head. Cream yawned, stretched her arms for a moment and scanned her surroundings. She was surprised and confused to find herself in a dungeon-like setting (who was that ghost wearing all black like an executioner?). Her relief arrived however when she spotted Knuckles. "Mr. Knuckles, thank goodness you are here. But...where are we?" the rabbit felt unsure how to respond to the situation.

"I don't know," Knuckles replies as evenly as he could. He stole a quick look on the area. "But we have to get out of here."

"How will we do that Mr. Knuckles?"

The echidna didn't answer and instead pulled his arm back as far as his body would allow it and sent his fist slicing through the air, colliding with the bars, sending them flying and hitting the ground with a chorus of _cling_! No more bars for them. Knuckles glanced over at Cream, a serious expression pasted on his face. "Stay close to me," he commanded."I have a feeling there is more to this place than meets the eye."

"But you managed to break the bars down."

"That's what I'm worried about."

_Meanwhile_

"AAAAHHHHH!" Tails screamed running and swirling his tails behind him as fast as he possibly could; barely ten feet from where he set forth and already trouble rose. Chasing the fox via air was Flying Frog, the nutcase.

"Aaaaaaa-ooohhhh!" His battle cry rang for all to hear. Slowly the lime-colored frog lowered and lowered himself to the anxious fox until he was hovering directly over Tails. The fox noticed and rolled himself into a ball skidding right into a tree, Flying Frog into the nearest branch in failure for concluding his act.

"Owie owie ow ow," he mumbled though he didn't sound hurt at all. He stretched his grin upon his face as Tails got to his feet. The fox then proceeded backing away.

"Don't hurt me," he begged. "I don't know what you want but chasing me won't accomplish anything."

Flying Frog hopped from the branch to the base of the tree where Tails was. "Hurt you? No no not here for that, bat, cat, zat. I just want to have a question, session."

"And you chased me just to tell me that?" So baffling the frog's speech and actions provided for the poor sidekick; his behavior gave the fox a good old fashioned Christmas present of the creeps. Conversing with a madman- or in this case mad frog- is never best nor safe idea for anyone to attempt. Regardless Tails determined that the best course of action is to stay right where he is. The mad frog may give him some background on what's going on. "What do you want to ask me?"

"Weather or not you know where your friends are par schmar."

"I don't- wait. Did you say weather when the question should have started with _whether_?"

Flying Frog placed his thumb under his chin and hmmmed. "Maybeeeeee, but then again I may be referring how the weather is. Pretty gloomy, hm?"

The fox knew that by this point arguing about the rules of grammar is not going to get neither him nor the creepy frog anywhere, so he said, "I have to go find my friends..."

Tails had no chance to finish his excuse because he felt a giant strong hand over his head, enveloping his face. "Forward march," growled a new voice to a new owner.

Flying Frog's eyes lightened. "Oooohhh I just remembered my question mention." He made his way over to Tails's blanketed face. "Didja know that there is a brown monkey right behind you and he's after what I'm schmafter?"

The fox muffled out an incoherent answer. "What's that? Didn't hear it," the frog sang.

"Forward march," the same voice commanded.

Flying Frog saluted, the crazy grin remained on his wide jaw line. "Okey dokey."

_0000000_

_Weee-hoooo! Weeee-hooooo!_ Rang sirens on the police cars as they pursued a blue hedgehog. Lights sprinkled and colored the city as the hero ran up, down and diagonally on the buildings. He had no idea how he got here or where he is but he needed to get out of here.

_Weeeee-hhooooo! Weeee-hooo!_

His friends. King Boom Boo's world. They had to be somewhere here.

_Weeee-hhooo! Weeeee-hoooo!_

Yet what if they weren't? What happened to them? Flower, Knuckles (Or should he say Mrs. Knuckles, haha), Amy Cream, Cheese and Tails. Sam…

_Weeeee-hhooooo! Weeee-hooo!_

Reality slapped the hero in the face as he pressed on, more determined to find his friends as opposed to finding a way out. If there is a way out. Up the building he ran, attempting to throw the cops' trail off. Alas the helicopters awaited his arrival and opened fire.

_Rat-at-at-atatatat_

Sonic dodged these bullets in a one single back flip. "Is that all ya got?" he taunted. "Boredom's gonna kill me much sooner than you guys will."

The police responded with continuous firing. The blue hedgehog somersaulted from his spot then sprang his infamous surplus mega jump. Before Sonic could wonder how in the world he jumped that high, his head rammed right into something. Something metal. The hero's hands flew to his head as he howled in pain. The Earth appeared before the hedgehog's vision as he fell farther and farther down. Everything happened so fast and yet so slow as the hedgehog changed in a different direction, now falling to the left. The hedgehog could care less what's happening right now for he had an ear-splitting headache overcame his common sense. Then nothing.

The hero steadily lifted his hands from his face and was quite surprised when he discovered he was not dead but instead surrounded by ghosts. They whispered excited whispers then disappeared into nothingness. _I must've hit my head harder than I thought…_ Sonic thought as he drifted to unconsciousness.

_00000_

Sam found Flower. Flower found Sam. They were both at the amusement park. The two embraced. "Flower you're okay!"

Flower pushed herself from Sam and grinned. "So are you."

Sam daintily placed a finger on her chin and too smiled. "Why thank you."

Flower giggled then gasped. Sam frowned. "What's the matter, someone big and mean is behind me?"

The black fox nodded so quick that she can easily be compared to a bobble head. Sam turned around as the area fell into dead silence; standing grave was Sergeant Simon. The purple hedgehog could not scream only choke out barely inaudible sounds at the back of her throat.

"Your choice, girls," the monkey said. "You can either come with me or you may stay and ride the Farris wheel as much as you please."

"The second option sounds-"

"Permanently." The single word, simple yet powerful, admitted from the monkey's throat. Both friends saw the double meaning behind the word. Flower took a glance from Sam who looked unusually calm despite the sudden arrival of the brute. The little fox opened her mouth to say something only to find Sam shape-shift into a balloon.

"We'll take our chances," her helium voice breathed. Flower took off, catching up to Sam. The two flew up into the skies, an angry monkey glaring up at their decision. In fact his eyes never left them, yet he made no attempt to halt their progress in the wide open skies.

The girls reached the clouds. Flower marveled at the cotton water-like feel at her fingertips. One moment a cloud. Next nothing. "This is so so cool," she exhaled. Turning her head to Sam's direction, she adds, "I wonder what they taste like."

Sam had her eyes glued to the clouds but answered. "Me too. I bet they taste like cotton candy."

"Really?"

The purple hedgehog dove herself straight into the fluffiness of the sugar white clouds a mouth wide open! She swallowed the clouds in one gulp. How open her eyes were. "IT'S TRUE IT'S TRUE IT'S TRUE IT'S TRUE!" Sam cart wheeled, somersaulted in the air in pure joy. Flower repeated Sam's action and shouted in happiness.

"IT'S SO FLUFFFFFYYY!" the fox wailed. Sam tossed a weightless cloud at her shoulder. Flower got her game face on….then echoed Sam's action. Pretty soon the two were in a cloud fight, similar to tag, only whoever was it wasn't it for long. They laughed, shouted, and howled in utmost delight. This is by far the most wonderful time they have had thus far in their lives.

Then it all went downhill. Sergeant Simon appeared in a jet black jet and shot long jet black missiles. The two yelped in surprise and barely barely barely dodged in time. The monkey had his determined face on. He opened fire once more; Flower squeaked and ducked. Sam grabbed her hand, shape shifted into a five hundred pound weight and had both her and Flower tumbling toward Earth.

After a momentary shock, the sergeant raced after them, shooting machine gun bullets at the girls. Flower countered the blows by swirling her tails rapidly, letting the bullets strike her robotic tails. _Clink clink clink!_ Before the young fox knew it, the Earth was centimeters below. Flower screamed. Simon fired. Sam transformed into a parachute and the two landed gracefully.

But it was not over yet. The monkey took one last fire aimed right at Sam's feet. The girls jumped back as debris seemingly floated everywhere, revealing a medium-sized hole leading to… a dungeon? (What's with the executioner ghost hovering around in the air?) Before Sam had a chance to think about their options, Flower leaped into the whole, leaving Sam no choice but to follow. Sergeant Simon trailed after them. "You can't hide forever!" he shouted into the hole, the echos ricocheting into the ears of the girls. Yet they did not hear.

_-0000-_

When Sam and Flower reached the bottom, what a surprise they had: Knuckles, Cream, Cheese, Sonic, Tails and Amy fighting one another. They were in an arena setting with ghosts hovering a little in their seats, huzzahing, arms in the air. Everywhere you look you can see purple, black and green all sprinkled on the walls, seats and some of the other ghosts. In the back of the arena laid King Boom Boo laughing at the entertainment presented. Upon the hedgehog's and fox's arrival all activity ceased; angry eyes.

"What in the world is going on here?!" Sam demanded. She pointed her finger at her friends. "And why are you guys fighting each other?"

"In one ear and out the otherrrr," the king sang out his words.

"Huh?"

"They're under my control," the king declared. "They listen to no one else. So in one ear and out the other with other peopleeee. Isn't that great?"

"NO!" the girls yelled, fed up with Boo's tricks.

The large ghost sat up. "No? Why ever not?"

"They're our friends," Flower hollered. "You said if we get to your castle, we can have our friends back!"

King Boo frowned. "That is most certainly not what I said. I said that if all of you solve my puzzles you may leave my world unharmed."

"That's exactly," Sam spoke up. "Why we are here at the castle."

"You think that is the entire puzzle?"

"Yes." No hesitation could be heard from Sam's direct, firm answer.

The king fingered his claws. "Well my dear and my young fox, I regret to inform you that-"

_Boooooomm!_ Huge explosion uncovered the large jet plane of Sergeant Simon, ruthless and serious as ever. Everyone gasped, even the mind controlled comrades. "Sergeant Simon," the king spluttered. "W-what are you doing here? You weren't supposed to come until Thursday."

Jumping out the now landed jet, crushing the solid ground under his solid weight, the monkey straightened his military jacket. "I was sent here. You broke off a deal."

"Oh if that's the rea- What? Me? Break a deal? Good sportsmanship is heavily emphasized around here. No one in my realm-myself included- breaks deals."

"And yet you were about to," Sam mutters under her breath.

"If that's true then that's a promise you have broken," Sergeant Simon spoke calmly. "You were supposed to capture the targets, not toy with them."

Boom gasped as he remembered. "Well I um uh," more sputtering. Meanwhile the once mind controlled friends were free from the ghost's control.

"Where are-" Knuckles began.

"SHHHHH!" hissed the girls. The friends remained silent but confusion rested in their eyes. Sam motioned everyone to huddle up. The friends obeyed.

"We're in King Boom boo's castle-" Sam started.

"We know!" Amy half yelled half whispered. "But why are we here in an arena?"

"You guys were fighting each other-"

"WHAT?!" everyone exclaimed.

"Why?" asks Sonic.

"Just shush and let us explain." Sam huffed.

_One story later_

"That explains a lot," Tails remarked.

"Not." Sonic mumbled.

"I know I know but we gotta find a way out." Sam was in business mode.

"But how?" Cream asks.

"Aaaaaa-ohhhh!" howled a familiar voice. To some of the characters at least. All eyes turned to the source: Flying Frog.

"You!" Sonic almost shouted.

The frog grinned. "I heard soft voices and had to see for myselffff. I heard all your secrets!"

"And I wanna help," the mad frog added after a pause, not that it would have eased the comrades' suspicion of Flying Frog's true motives.

"How will you do that?" Amy wanted to know.

"Oh no," Sonic waved his hands. "Nonononono. No. We're not seriously considering it."

"What choice do we have?" Sam asks. "If he truly knows the way out-" "I doooo." The frog whispered. - "Then maybe we should ask him."

Every person on the team had their eyes on the mad frog. Then they turned to King Boo, arguing with Sergeant Simon about something. And let's just say that some light blue fire was involved.

_00000_

How they got out of the world of King Boom Boo is quite unbelievable. Well, not really, but whether or not you buy it is your call. Ready? Okay.

They jumped. And they jumped. And they jumped until a hole appeared on the ground. As soon as they jumped into the hole, the team found themselves in their own beds. Not at the hotel but at the mansion. The only person not present is Flying Frog himself. Just like the question of whether or not ghosts exist is similar to your questioning whether or not that one dream you had is real or not. Especially if the dream seems like it could happen in real life.

Only Flying Frog, Sergeant Simon and The Boss know what happened. And as Flying Frog and Sergeant Simon (mostly Sergeant Simon) recalled the events, the Boss remained silent. Even after the two finished talking the Boss kept quiet. Then he waved his hand indicting the two to leave. Once the frog and gorilla were outside the Boss's chamber, Flying Frog jumped from the floor to the wall, crawling. Sergeant Simon watched, his blue burned arms giving him a streak of color.


End file.
